Golden hour is the stretch of light before sunset when the sun is low, warm and soft, and it produces the photographs couples frame. It is also the most frequently wasted part of a wedding day, usually because it arrives during dinner and nobody planned to step outside. This is how to plan for it, season by season.
What golden hour actually is
The light turns gold when the sun is within roughly ten degrees of the horizon. In practical terms that is the last sixty to ninety minutes before sunset, with the final twenty minutes being the softest. After sunset there is a further twenty to thirty minutes of blue, even light that is excellent for portraits and that nearly everyone ignores.
The exact timing depends on your latitude and your date, which is why we compute it for every city we work in rather than guessing. The figures below are typical for the middle of the United States.
Spring (March to May)
Sunset moves from about 6:30 to 8:15 across the season. Golden hour therefore lands between 5:00 and 8:00, which for most spring weddings means it coincides with cocktail hour or the first part of dinner. A 4:00 ceremony works well in April; by late May a 5:00 ceremony still leaves time for portraits in the good light.
Spring light is clear and a little cool. Expect wind.
Summer (June to August)
The latest sunsets of the year, 8:15 to 8:45 in most of the country, and the longest golden hours. This is the season where couples most often miss it, because sunset falls squarely in the middle of the reception. The answer is a planned ten-minute break: we take you out during dinner service, after the toasts and before the parent dances, and bring you back before anyone has noticed.
Summer light is warm and hazy. Midday is harsh; a 5:30 or 6:00 ceremony is ideal.
Autumn (September to November)
Sunset slides from about 7:30 in early September to 5:00 by mid-November, with the clocks changing in early November. September and early October are the best portrait months of the year: warm light, foliage, and sunsets that land right after a 4:30 ceremony. By late October a 3:30 ceremony is wise, and in November a 2:30 ceremony with portraits at 4:00 is the plan.
Autumn light is the richest of the year and lasts the shortest time. Do not be late to it.
Winter (December to February)
Sunset between 4:45 and 5:45. Winter weddings almost always have an afternoon ceremony and the portraits before it, which means a first look is nearly compulsory. The good news: the sun stays low all day in winter, so the light is soft from early afternoon onwards and "golden hour" can be two hours long. Snow doubles the light and is wonderful.
Plan for cold: ten-minute portrait blocks, a coat for between them, and an indoor spot with window light as the fallback.
The ten-minute reception break
Whatever the season, this is the single most valuable thing you can add to a timeline:
- Ask your planner or coordinator to pencil "portraits" ten minutes before sunset.
- We come and find you. You do not need to watch the clock.
- We walk outside, make eight or ten photographs in the last of the light, and walk back.
- Total time away from your guests: twelve minutes. Total photographs you will frame: most of them.
It works for an eight-hour day, a six-hour day and a micro wedding alike. Tell us the ceremony time and we will tell you the sunset; it is on the city page for anywhere you are getting married.
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